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Appointment with F.E.A.R. (book)
:For other uses of '''Appointment with F.E.A.R.', see'' Appointment with F.E.A.R. Appointment with F.E.A.R. is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Steve Jackson, illustrated by Declan Considine and originally published in 1985 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2004 and 2011, and again in 2018 by Scholastic Books with new illustrations by Vlado Krizan. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 17th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031922-0), 18th in the Wizard "Series 1" (ISBN 1-84046-527-1), 16th in "Series 2" (ISBN 1-84831-244-X), and 9th in the Scholastic series (ISBN 1-40718-617-5). Creation In the "Fighting Fantasy News" section of Warlock issue 5, the update on new and forthcoming Fighting Fantasy gamebooks gave a release schedule which included Superheroes as the September (1985) release. This was specifically noted as being a provisional title and would become Appointment with F.E.A.R.. - pg.10 Background - Back Cover ("Dragon" Edition)}} The reader assumes the role of Jean Lafayette, secretly the "Silver Crusader", a superhero who protects the fictional Titan City. The reader chooses from four super-powers and battles criminals such as "The Scarlet Prankster", "Dr Macabre", "The Serpent" and "The Alchemists". Besides catching criminals, the reader's ultimate goal is to determine the time and place of the imminent meeting between the leaders of F.E.A.R., the "Federation of - Rebels", an Evil organization led by Vladimir Utoshski, the menacing "Titanium Cyborg" as pictured on the cover. How to Battle the Super-Villains of Titan City/Super Powers and Clues The book in general follows the original rules set down in ''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (see Game System). Unique Rules *''Appointment With F.E.A.R.'' employs a unique mechanic for the series, Hero Points, which are awarded to the player for every villain captured and disaster averted, allowing them to compare their performance from one play-through to the next. - pg.16 *Because the player is a superhero, they are not allowed to kill their enemies, only disable them, and any death results in the loss of Hero Points. When an enemy is reduced to 2 Stamina they surrender. - pg.12 *The player also constantly collects "Clues" not just to the time and place of F.E.A.R.'s meeting but when and where they need to be in order to catch various villains. - pg.16-17 *Players have the choice of one of four "super powers" with which to play the game: Super Strength, Psi-Powers, Enhanced Technological Skill (ETS), and Energy Blast. - pg.18-21 Equipment List In the "Background" the player is mentioned as wearing a Crimewatch. - pg.25 No other equipment list is given for the player, except for those choosing the ETS "super power" which gives them an Accessory Belt. - pg.20 Collecting items is almost completely eliminated, with the emphasis instead on the player collecting clues allowing them to intercept villains in the commission of a crime, as well as the time and place of the crucial F.E.A.R. meeting. Cover and Illustrations Covers The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Brian Bolland. Appointment With F.E.A.R. was the first book to retain its original cover image when republished by Wizard. A new cover was created by Robert M. Ball when the book was republished in 2018 by Scholastic. Illustrations Puffin/Wizard Editions The interior illustrations were by Declan Considine. There were 32 full page illustrations and 5 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 1, 15, 29, 43, 58, 72, 85, 99, 114, 129, 144, 157, 171, 185, 201, 215, 228, 242, 256, 270, 284, 298, 313, 327, 341, 355, 369, 382, 396, 410, 425 and 440. Scholastic Edition The interior illustrations were by Vlado Krizan. There were 20 full page illustrations and 6 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 1, 43, 58, 85, 114, 129, 157, 185, 215, 242, 256, 284, 298, 313, 341, 355, 369, 382, 425 and 440. The full-page illustrations in the book were accompanied with a caption giving a short extract from the text. Intertextual References *The main character buys the original Fighting Fantasy gamebook The Warlock of Firetop Mountain as a gift for his boss - 42 and a board game. - 355 *The main location for this book is Titan City. It is interesting to note that the book was published in 1985, prior to the publication of Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World, but at around the same time as Out of the Pit, when the world of Titan as a home for Fighting Fantasy was introduced. It may be possible that Titan City was so named to link Appointment with F.E.A.R, which is set in a future timeline, to the otherwise unrelated world of Titan, the home of the majority of the Fighting Fantasy books. Sequel A sequel exists in the form of the short adventure Deadline to Destruction by Gavin Shute, published in issue 12 of Warlock in 1986. Other Media A computer game was planned under the Fighting Fantasy Software brand, to be distributed by Adventure International (UK), sometime after February 1987. However, this was never released. Main Characters YOU: Jean Lafayette aka the "Silver Crusader" *''"Beast-King"'' *''"Chainsaw"'' Bronski *Colonel Saunders - Army officer *''"Daddy Rich"'' *Doctor Charles Crayfish *Drew Swain *''"Fats Bluebottle"'' *Gerry the Grass *Giorgio Schultz aka "The Poisoner" *Grant Morley - Reporter for the Titan Times *Illya Karpov aka the "Creature of Carnage" *Jonah Whyte - Newspaper Editor *Lieutenant Wojak - Policeofficer *Lola Manche - Actress *''"Macro Brain"'' *''"Mantrapper"'' *Marcus Buletta aka "Dr Macabre" *Mustapha Kareem aka "The Mummy" *''"Rat-Face"'' Flanagan *Richard Storm aka "The Tormentor" *Sidney Knox - Research Assistant *Susan Blythe *Sylvia Frost aka "The Ice Queen" *''"The Alchemists"'' *''"The Devastator"'' *''"The Fire Warriors"'' *''"The Reincarnation"'' *''"The Ringmaster"'' *''"The Scarlet Prankster"'' *''"The Serpent"'' *''"The Smoke"'' *Timothy Grant aka "The Brain Child" *Vladimir Utoshski '' aka "The Titanium Cyborg"'' *Wayne Bruce Locations *2nd Avenue *7th Avenue *9th Avenue *10th Avenue *12th Street *58th Street *100th Street *113th Street *128th Street *209th Street *Addison Square Gardens *Audubon Park *Banner Street *Central Hospital *''Chomsky and Sons'' *Clancey Bay *Clark Street *Cleveland Bank *Cockney Cemetery *Cockney Green *Cowfield Dairy *Danvers Street *''El Greco's'' *Grimm Street *''Harrold's Department Store'' *''Manny's Coffee Shop'' *Metroville *Murdock Nuclear Laboratories *Museum of Egyptian Heritage *Natural History Museum *Oceanaria Marina *Parker Airport *Peter Laboratories *Radd Square *Regent Hotel *Schuter Mall *Stanley Pool *Starkers Beach *Titan Abattoir *Titan City *Titan City Central Library *Titan City Council Buildings *Titan City University *Titan Zoo *''Warnum and Wailey's Travelling Circus'' *Whirl's Court Exhibition Centre *Wisneyland *Wormwood Scrubs Encounters *Android *''"Chainsaw"'' Bronski *''"[[Illya Karpov|Creature of Carnage"/Illya Karpov]]'' *''"Daddy Rich"'' *''"Dr Macabre"'' *Fountain Creature *Four-Armed Beast *Humans - Assassin/Bodyguards/Pickpocket *''"Ice Queen"'' *Lions *''"Mantrapper"'' *''"Mummy"'' *Radiation Dogs *Ripper Shark *Sidney Knox *''"The Alchemists"'' *''"The Devastator"'' *''"The Fire Warriors"'' *''"The Reincarnation"'' *''"The Ringmaster"'' *''"The Scarlet Prankster"'' *''"The Serpent"'' *''"The Tiger Cat"'' *''"The Tormentor"'' *''"Tiger Man"'' *''"The Titanium Cyborg"'' Further Notes *The book is also unusual in that there are four different solutions depending on which super-power was selected at the start. In fact, it is possible to complete the adventure twice using two different super-powers without reading any of the sections both times except the first and the last. This adds to the book's replay value, although also to its complexity - a lot of trial and error is required to find any of the solutions. *This book is unique in the series for its use of the superhero genre, and features several tongue-in-cheek references to popular comic book characters. Examples include: :*The very start of your adventure sees you on Clark Street - reference to Superman's alter-ego, Clark Kent. :*A dead millionaire called Wayne Bruce and a kidnapped billionaire named Drew Swain (a reference to , whose alter-ego was ). :*One Roger Stevens (a reference to 's alter ego Steve Rogers). :*The protagonist's fiery-tempered boss, Jonah Whyte (a combination of and ). :*Two of the locations in Titan City were named Peter Laboratories and Parker Airport, a reference to comic book character , whose alter-ego was . :*The aforementioned airport features 3 hangars - Xavier Hangar ( , a.k.a Professor X), Summers Hangar ( a.k.a Cyclops) and McCoy Hangar ( , a.k.a Beast), all of which reference characters from the . :*The location Radd Square refers to Norrin Radd, better known as the Silver Surfer, while Richard (the Tormentor) and his girlfriend Susan are references to Susan Richards, the - both characters from the . *(157) re-enacts the assassination of President . *Dr Charles Crayfish is working on the " " satellite program launched by US President in the 1980s. *Other plays on names abound with Addison Square Gardens ( ); Starkers Beach being a possible nod to of ; Aunt Florence as a substitute for Peter Parker's ; Wisneyland ( ); Harrold's Department Store ( ); the musical Rats ( );and the "Creature of Carnage"'s actions in (114) may or may not intentionally mirror those of from the . Series 2 Additions *11 paragraphs from Armies of Death. Errors *In the illustration for (29) the Smoke appears to change into smoke and drift out an open window after being confronted by the Silver Crusader. In (303) however, which leads to it, the Crusader only realizes something is amiss when he sees brown smoke drifting out the window through an air conditioner. *When you confront the murderer Daddy Rich (171) you are asked if you have Energy Blast but to find him you must have read the clue (108). That clue is only available by choosing either Super Strength or Psi Powers. *When you surprise the Alchemists as they exit the bank (128) you are asked if you have Super Srength but to find them you must have read the clue (88). That clue is only available by choosing either Energy Blast or ETS. It is possible that at some point this clue and the Daddy Rich clue (see above) got mixed up. *If you leave Peter Laboratories unnoticed (293), the next morning starts to rain and you're asked if "you're on your way to somewhere more important". As evidenced by (273) i.e. 293 - 20, this is a hint to apply the clue for the villain Smoke; however, you may not have gotten this clue if you went to Peter Laboratories in the first place. *In the paragraphs where you find the FEAR meeting while having Super Strength (430), Energy Blast (252) or Psi-Powers (147), you're given options for other powers - even though you couldn't possibly reach those paragraphs with any other power. Dedication Puffin Edition Dedicated to B.J. ... a Superhero in his own way - pg.5 Wizard Edition Dedicated to Tommo... Thanks for the years of gaming, the Canaletto seats and the healthy teeth - pg.5 Scholastic Edition none See Also *''Deadline to Destruction'' *''The Tasks of Tantalon'' Reviews External Links *Character Sheet - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=11 Fighting Fantasy at Gamebooks.org] - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=12 Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 1) at Gamebooks.org] - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=1285 Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 2) at Gamebooks.org] - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_item.php?id=54 Appointment with F.E.A.R. at Gamebooks.org] - Retrieved 2019-10-26 *[http://web.archive.org/web/20051127132124/www.fightingfantasy.com/ffb17.htm Appointment with F.E.A.R. at the Internet Archive record of the old] Fightingfantasy.com - Retrieved 2019-10-26 References Category:1985 books Category:Fighting Fantasy Original Series Category:Fighting Fantasy Wizard Series Category:Fighting Fantasy Wizard Series 2 Category:Fighting Fantasy Scholastic Series